All posts by joowonpark

Monophonic Triplets (2017) for Multiple Desktops

06/20/2017Compositionsjoowonpark

Monophonic Triplets was inspired by Poeme Electronique, which introduced site-specific electronic music to a great population in 1950’s. It is also my attempt to convert a ubiquitous space and tool into an expressive instrument.

The video above is a small-scale demo and a technical demonstration. Imagine this piece in a computer lab or a gallery. The piece can be easily transferred and extended to a large number of computers.

If you are interested in running Monophonic Triplets in a computer lab or a gallery, contact me at joowon(at)joowonpark(dot)net. I can create a customized code for any number of computers.

Link to SuperCollider Codes for Monophonic Triplets Quintet Version

Indescriptive (2017) for tenor saxophone and video

04/10/2017Collaborators, Compositionsindescriptive, music and video, supercollider, tenor saxophonejoowonpark

Indescriptive is for tenor saxophone and video. Headphone or a low-frequency friendly speaker is needed for the best listening experience. A video projection system and subwoofer are recommended for the performance. You won’t hear much in the first 30 seconds on phone/laptop speakers.

The piece was commissioned by Wayne State University Saxophone studio. It was premiered and recorded by Megan Parsell on 2017.

Scores and electronic part can be found in the link below. For the performance without the visuals, use Indescriptive-ElecAudio.mp3. A higher-quality audio can be provided upon request. Otherwise, use Indescriptive_ElecOnly.mp4 for the electronic accompaniment. If you feel adventurous, I can send you a SuperCollider version that will algorithmically change the electronic part at every performance. Just let me know.

https://www.dropbox.com/sh/kgvzwfz8v63agk5/AABLIlqWWMqhoq6eFL4y_rnGa?dl=0

Touch (2017) – for objects, computer, and synthesizer

01/16/2017Compositionssupercollider, tinydesk, toccata, touchjoowonpark

Touch is a piece for found objects, computer, and a synthesizer. The sound of various ways of touching is amplified and enhanced with a custom music program. This recording is a submission for NPR Tiny Desk Contest.

Touch is based on two of my old pieces: Toccata (2009) and 100 Strange Sounds 83 (2014). The title of the piece comes from a piece by Morton Subotnick, who is a big influence of my music.

DistMod – for software synthesizer with 18 knobs

01/02/2017Compositions, Researchaudiovisual, music, supercollider, synthesizerjoowonpark

DistMod is an audiovisual work for an original digital synthesizer and 18 knobs. The synthesizer was created in SuperCollider by manipulating the waveform shape of the frequency modulator. The synthesizer also has sample-and-hold feature so that the user can smoothly change from a glissando to arpeggio. The piece was written as a demonstration of my electronic music composition class project. The project is called One Sound, and the students are asked to define and create a “single” sound, gesture, or idea.

The patch for DistMod ( www.joowonpark.net/distmod ) can be downloaded at the following link: https://app.box.com/s/uo7z4d0zqpfmrsu5xm1byu9vkyd6ox8w

Instructions:

Open the downloaded .scd file in SuperCollider (available for free at http://supercollider.github.io/ )
Select Menu->Language->Evaluate File

DistMod is a second synthesizer of the -Mod series. The first one, BiQMod can be found at www.joowonpark.net/biqmod

Modulationist

12/09/2016Announcement, Compositionsalbum, cmin13, modulationistjoowonpark

Last week, my 3rd solo album, Modulationist was released on NoRemixes Label (click on the album cover).

Tracklist

Here’s the promo writing from the record label describing the album.

Known for his series of YouTube video series entitled ‘100 Strange Sounds’, Joo Won Park returns to NOREMIXES for his second album, Modulationist, which finds the composer incorporating live instrumentation into his bed of electronic disturbances.

On his previous NOREMIXES album, Overundertone, Joo Won Park toned down the raw and often aggressive nature of the ‘100 Strange Sounds’ series into more quirky melodic passages that mixed foundsound with his SuperCollider experiments. With Modulationist, the composer pits live performers against the computer with the entire album arching towards a full-on digital takeover. Percussionist Hunter Brown, joins Park on vibraphone during opener, ‘Hallelujah’, a sparse starting place. Complexity develops with ‘Armor+2’ featuring Giovanni Bertoni on clarinets. ‘Notation for Synth’ provides a playful break from the tension as electronics take center stage. This is followed by ‘JNNJ’ which pits dueling percussion against electronics in the album’s most rhythmically challenging work. ‘Swamps, Showers, and Creatures’ utilizes foundsound and sparse electronics with bursts of oboe, for the last sign of acoustic instrumentation on Modulationist. The electronics takeover, however, fitting closer ‘Modulationist’ shows just how hands-on Park is with his electronics as the composer utilizes no-input mixing for a full on sonic assault on the listener.

Hunter Brown, percussion (Hallelujah /JNNJ)
Giovanni Bertoni, clarinets (Armor+2)
Louis Pino, percussion (JNNJ)
Theodosia Roussos, oboe (Swamps, Showers, and Creatures)

There are three previously-unreleased tracks in this album. Cmin13 and Modulationist are created exclusively for this release. The two tracks are examples of the musical directions I am currently interested in. I also included a stereo “studio” version of Singaporean Crosswalk. It sounds quite different from the live recordings as it has different ways to spatialize the sound.

I think I have an intimate personal story to share in this album. Have a listen!